Curtiss MF Flying Boat

[Skyking]

......I can't see properly as the green is making my eyes water...... :)

Sorry about that Geedub... Thanks for the comments once again. How's that Camel coming along?

I had a good couple of uninterrupted nights to really buckle down and get some of the natty things that needed to be done finished. The paint is all done except for some touch ups here and there. I had a few tense moments putting the lower wings in place. I used brass tube sockets in the fuselage, with brass wire pins in the wings to plug into the sockets. I used CA to glue them in place, and all went well with the left wing, but when I went to insert the right wing into the socket, it went in about 1/8 of an inch and the CA seized, and I mean immediately, and it stuck good. Trouble is the wing was still about 1/2 inch away from the fuselage. No amount of pulling would pull it out either. I had to use a pair of pliers and grab the exposed pin and twist and rock it at the same time, till first one, then the other pin broke loose and I was able to pull them out. I was trying to be careful so I didn;t break anything, but I heard a couple of disconcerting cracks as I was tugging. Fortunately I can't see any signs of cracks or split seams. I also added the ribbed cover over the fuel tank area, added aluminum walkways on the bow and aft deck, glued the engine pylon in place and rigged the fuel lines and Bowden Cable for the throttle, fuel tank vent and oilpan breather. The inspection plate on the bow is .005 brass circles I punched out, and there's two more aft behind the jig.

This shot shows the engine plumbing to good advantage.

The walkway and inspection plate show up well here. I made the walkway from thick aluminum foil that I burnished down over some fine screen, then glued in place using Micro Scale Bare Metal Adhesive. I have to make two more smaller ones for beside the engine, and then two more smaller yet for step plates on the sides of the sponsons. Once I overcoat everything with a semi-gloss overcoat it should dull down some of the excessive glossiness.

Most of these shots were shot with natural light with an extended shutter speed. The green really doesn't look all that bright in natural light... :lol:. It's a good thing too, because the wingtip floats are painted green as well.

Next job will be to make the upper wing jig, cut the struts, and I can begin final assembly and rigging.

'Till next time

Cheers

Mike

[Chappie]

I am now officially speechless. Incredible. If I had these skills I would build myself a collection of 48th Pitts Specials.

Chappie

Edited February 14, 2007 by Chappie

[Skyking]

Hi Chappie,

If I had these skills I would build myself a collection of 48th Pitts Specials.

Chappie if you can take a dog of a kit and correct the problems it has, you have the skills needed to scratchbuild. I will state till my last breath, that I think scratchbuilding is, in many ways, easier than correcting a poorly fitting kit. The Pitts is a small airplane with somewhat simple shapes. I'd be willing to bet a dozen and a half donuts you could do it. If you think you want to give it a whirl I'll assist in any way I can.

The one thing that bothers me about this subject is the lack of markings. Decaling is one of my favorite steps in a model, and this particular airplane has zilch for markings, not even a Curtiss logo on the fin or rudder. So taking that into account I've decided to add wing rib tape decals to all the ribs and lead/trail edges.... all 188 of them, in order to scratch my decaling itch. In a nutshell, I took some clear decal film, sprayed it with a slightly lighter shade of aluminum dope, cutting it into 1/16th of an inch wide strips, and applying them to the wing and tail ribs, and lead and trail edges of all the flying surfaces. I've finished the upperside of the top wing, and the subtle difference in texture and shade of the tapes really adds a lot of character to an otherwise bland silver wing. I will post some shots of the upper wing when I get home later this evening.

Cheers

Mike

[geedubelyer]

The non-slip walkway plating works a treat Mike. What a thoughtful and inspirational idea, thanks for explaining the technique.

The contrast of the bright aluminium and dark mahogany is extremely effective.

I hope you are able to keep some of the shine on the fuselage as it looks brilliant in your last photos. It really gives the appearance of highly polished wood.

Looking forward to more updates.

[Skyking]

HI ya Geedub,

I hope you are able to keep some of the shine on the fuselage

I am still undecided what to do with it. One minute I look at it and I like it the way it is, another I look at it and it looks toy-like with too much gloss.. I can't seem to make up my mind, plus the mantra... "If it ain't broke don't fix it" keeps coming to mind. It looks good now, if I try to "fix" it I may regret it. I'll have to wait and see.

Here's the shot of the wing tape decals. In the foreground are the upper wings, and their top-sides are done. I am doing the bottom of the lower wings now, so I made a cradle out of a bin-box to hold it for me. This prevents any damage to the engine and engine pylon. Once I have them all applied I will overcoat with a semigloss clear to seal them and even out the gloss.

Behind the upper wing is the raw sheet I am cutting my strips from, and the strips you can see to the right. I am using Detail Master clear decal film. Wonderful stuff. All I did was put my color on, followed by a coat of Future then a coat of Micro Scale Decal Overcoat. They go down really nice and all I need is Micro Sol to set them. I have some Champs Decal Solvent I use time to time, and it dissolved one of the tapes right before my eyes. Oopsies... a little too strong I think..

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Mike

[Skyraider3D]

Great progress. The green is indeed a bit unkind on the eyes. Love the dark brown and silver though.

[Skyking]

Thanks for the comments Skraider. I have discovered that as more "stuff" gets added to the model the green really isn't as offensive as it is when looking at just the hull. Plus most of the green is on the bottom anyways, so it doesn't look that bad in natural light.

I've got all the decaling done, and after applying 220 1/16th" wide strips, it's a wonder I am not crosseyed. It was worth the effort though as it adds a lot of dimension to an otherwise flat and boring wing surface. I am going to apply one more overcoat of silver dope, then a final coat of semigloss to seal everything, and all the painting is done. I will leave the hull the way it is, as it looks too good right now to take a chance on messing it up.

Here the upper wing jigs are mocked up, later today I will square everything up and glue the jigs in place, rubber band the wings to them and begin measuring and cutting struts. With any luck, I may be able to get this wrapped up by next weekend.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Cheers

Mike

Edited February 24, 2007 by Skyking

[mbittner]

Beautiful, Mike, simply beautiful.

[miduppergunner]

A truly excellent example of good workmanship and ability. There is a wealth of information in this topic for those of us who like to improvise - many thanks!

David

[Barneydhc82]

Mike: Your wing rib treatment is very impressive...but the whole project is that way. Looking forward to seeing this one finished.

Barney

[Skyraider3D]

Thanks for the comments Skraider. I have discovered that as more "stuff" gets added to the model the green really isn't as offensive as it is when looking at just the hull.

Funny effect, but you're right indeed. It's becoming less distracting as the model gets more complex.

Nice going!

Edited February 24, 2007 by Skyraider3D

[Sabre F-86]

Mike, thanks for explaining your Vac set up to me. I'm going to be putting mine together as soon as my garage stops being sub-zero and I can work out there without my coffee freezing solid. I'd like to do one able to handle large work for a 32nd scale Ilyushin Beagle I've been thinking about building for the last couple years.

I'm really getting a lot out of this build, and the other one for the NC-4. You do great work.

Sabre

[geedubelyer]

Great stuff Mike.

Amongst all of your many talents I think it is your precision that I admire most. Lord only knows how much time and patience it must have taken to apply all of those decal strips and get each one lined up and parallel with its' neighbour.

The work you've put in is most definately worth it though. The wings look tremendous. I'm seriously diggin' that whole satin sheen thing :) Most convincing. Couple that with the gloss of the fuselage and you've got such terrific contrasts.

For my part, I think that the multitude of textures on these older machines it what brings them alive.

It's marvellous to see all of the different materials in use.

I'm eagerly awaiting more from you, please keep up the hard work.

[Skyking]

Thanks everyone for the comments. They are much appreciated, especially yours miduppergunner. I don't consider myself an expert at all, as I reserve those terms for the likes of the late George Lee, John Alcorn, the late Ron Lowry and a few of the other real Masters out there. But just knowing you were able to pick up some ideas and learn something from my feeble attempts is the highest accolade one can receive.

Last night I got the upper wing jigged and rubber banded in place, and as I cut the final strut I noticed that my engine pylon was sitting about 1/16th of an inch to the left when viewed from the front, and my radiator to was not perfectly lined up and parallel with the lead edge of the wing.

:lol:

Nothing irritates me more than misaligned components, so after the struts were all cut I removed the top wing from the jig, had a glass of wine to steel my nerves, and carefully popped the engine pylon loose from the hull. I had to trim a smidge from the bottoms of the right struts, and tweak all four a little to the left to move the pylon to the right. I also popped the radiator loose and rotated it a smidge counterclockwise, and it now sits parallel with the wing lead edge. Also when viewed from the front, my fin, engine pylon, headache strut and bow point all are in alignment, and I am much happier now.

I will post some shots tonight with the wing and struts back in place. I should have taken some before/after shots, but the after should give an idea. It just goes to show that if you aren't happy with the way something looks, fix it, or it will always bug the crap out of you.

Cheers

Mike

Edited February 26, 2007 by Skyking

[Skyking]

One my least favorite parts of a bipe build is cutting and fitting struts, and I'm always relieved when it's done. I have them all cut, painted and numbered for each specific location, and they are sitting in place while I wait for another fret of PE turnbuckles to arrive from Aeroclub. I've begun installing the bracing wires for the engine pylon, I want to get that all done before I set the top wing into place for good.

The little bits you see in front are PE turnbuckles I had left from a prior fret. These were cut in half, and will be CA'ed to all the struts, on both sides and top and bottom to represent the strut fittings. There's also the pulleys for the aileron cables that run along the lead edge of the top wing, and the weird looking tripod thingies on the ailerons are the control horns. These were made from soldered .020 copper wire. The rudder and elevator horns were made from the same material, but these were filed to the shape of a normal control horn. As soon as the other PE fret arrives I can paint the fittings and pulleys green, then I'll epoxy the struts and rigging into the top wing, set the wing into place and begin rigging. It'll be, as they say, all downhill from there. I'd like to get this finished in time for BUFCON in 4 weeks.

Some of the struts got "tweaked" a little when I bent them to fit in between the wings. I'll have to straighten them out once I install them for good. Contrail Strut is great stuff to work with.

Another look from higher up.

Cheers

Mike

Edited March 3, 2007 by Skyking

[HOLMES]

Looking good....

Holmes... :)

[geedubelyer]

another fret of PE turnbuckles to arrive from Aeroclub.

The little bits you see in front are PE turnbuckles I had left from a prior fret.

Cheers

Mike

Great progress Mike, she's really taking shape. I'm looking forward to your rigging updates as this is the area that still holds the most trepidation for me.

I've read your excellent rigging article but it will be nice to see a step by step here.

I visited the Aeroclub site but could n't find any 1/32 turnbuckles. Would you know if anyone produces any?

I'd considered using thick cyano/PVA glue to represent the turnbuckles. Can you suggest any alternatives please?

Cheers

:lol:

[Skyking]

Hiya Guy

I visited the Aeroclub site but could n't find any 1/32 turnbuckles. Would you know if anyone produces any? I'd considered using thick cyano/PVA glue to represent the turnbuckles. Can you suggest any alternatives please?

I'll be brutally honest with you Guy, I used to be in the camp of adding turnbuckles to rigging, but I've changed my mind about them, and here's why. No matter what I did, they always looked like globs of paint, wire insulation, hypodermic tubing, or whatever it was I tried at the time to simulate them. PE turnbuckles I think are even worse as they are flat and one dimensional, not round like real ones are. I use them for flat fittings for struts and the like, and not for turnbuckles. I did try them on my Martin Handasyde which is featured here someplace. You can look at them and see what you think.

For this project I found some really fine gage wire (31 gage I think) that has an isulation thickness of .010 and a wire diameter of around .005. I was going to use the insulation, cut it into short lengths and slip it over my monofilament before I glued the other end in place. I tried it on a couple of test pieces and once again instead of looking like a turnbuckle, it looked like wire insulation stuck over my mono. :o. Bear in mind I am building in 1/48th, so in 1/32nd scale you could probably get away with using it. It looked to clunky and thick in 48th. There's a place in the UK called Bob's Buckles, but I believe he only does 1/72 and 1/48th. You could drop him a line though and ask if he does custom sizes. His website is http://bobsbuckles.co.uk . Maybe he can fix you up.

While I am waiting for the other PE fret I got the tailplane struts cut and fitted, and I have the engine pylon rigged, and I am beginning the rigging for the tail and flying controls. I'll post a few pictures later on as I progress. Even though there is a ton of little things getting done, it's really not evident in the photos, so there is not much point in posting anymore pictures until some of the rigging is finished.

Cheers

Mike

[Old Man]

Superb as always, Mr. King!

This is shaping up splendidly.

[Skyking]

Thanks again everyone for the comments. They are helping me stay motivated.

I have to give huge kudu's to Aeroclub from the UK. Last Thursday I ordered a fret of Part PE Turnbuckles. Figuring it would be a week or so before I got them, I was quite shocked to see them sitting in my mailbox on Tuesday. Four days to make it across the pond is quite remarkable, and I have nothing but good to say about the fine folks at Aeroclub.

I have all the PE bits for the struts cut and painted. While waiting for them to arrive I tackled the prop, and finished the rigging for the engine pylon. Once I get the fittings on the struts I can glue them in place and begin final rigging and assembly.

The prop is carved from laminated basswood and rosewood 1/32nd venners that I sanded further to about .030 of an inch before stacking them and gluing them into the prop blank. I then cut the basic shape out using my bandsaw, then a sander to sand to final shape. A coat of mahogony gell stain, followed by 3 coats of poly results in what you see here. Part PE prop bosses, and Bare Metal Foil copper foil for the lead edge sheathing round it out. So far so good. I don't think it's going to be a show stopper, as it has it's share of problems, but I'm still happy with the end results so far.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Mike

[Old Man]

Great to see more progress, Sir!

The lamination has an excellent appearance, and the whole motor is a treat.

[Skyking]

Thanks OldMan, appreciate the comments. The modeling gods were good to me today. A few days ago I got all my PE turnbuckles cut in half and painted for the strut fittings, and this afternoon I played hooky from work and came home and tackled gluing them in place.... all 48 of the little buggers. Oddly enough, none got dropped, my tweezers didn't snap any off into oblivion, I didn't sneeze and blow them everywhere.... they all went on without a hitch. I thought to myself "Wow, this is some seriously cosmic karma going on here". You can see in the first photo how they look on the struts. It adds a nice splash of color and gives the struts a beefier look to them. I'm glad I put them on.

The Next step was to pre-rig my top wing. I added the inside bay wires that form the "X" between the struts, as it's a lot easier sticking them in now, rather than standing on my head after the top wing was glued in place. I didn't put the flying or landing wires in, as they will be easily accessible from the bottom. It makes for a hairy looking beast doesn't it? I also added the inner center section struts. The will be guides in final placement of the upper wing.

After these were in place, it was time...

*trill of trumpets here*...

.... for the top wing to be epoxied in place. I rubber banded the model to the lower cradle, dropped some epoxy into my center section sockets, and plopped the struts in. Seeing as everything was cut and lined up before hand, they literally fell right into place. I squared up the wing with a square, then rubber banded the top wing to hold it in place while the epoxy cures. I poked all the strands of rigging through their respective holes, and cut off the excess. These I'll pull tight after I install the rest of the struts tomorrow, then I can add the flying and landing wires.

Head-on view showing everything to be lined up nicely. The rigging looks a little sick all sagging and droopy, but it will give a lot of strength to the model. I am using .003 mono-filament for all rigging.

Side view. Wings are nice and parallel, and 90 degrees to the hull. The extra care taken during assembly to make sure everything is lined up is paying off some dividends.

Thanks for looking. I'll post some more shots later this weekend after the rest of the struts are in place, and some of the rigging is getting done.

Cheers

Mike

[Old Man]

You were indeed favored of the Gods, Sir, in that run with the photo-etch. I am a little curious how that works, in conjuction with the running of lines through holes. In my attempts at replicating turnbuckles in the smaller scale, I have been accustomed to attach the lines directly to them.

The thing is really looking sweet as it comes together, and the process as you describe it seems a treat in itself. As I have said before, I am nearly in as much awe of your jigs as your finished models: they are works of art in themselves.

[Skyking]

Thanks again OldMan. Just to clarify I didn't use the PE turnbuckles for the rigging. I cut them in half and used them to simulate the fittings on the end of the struts that bolt the strut to the wing spar. They are the little green ends on the tops and bottoms of the struts. Sorry for the confusion. I've decided that it's a lost cause to try to simulate turnbuckles. To me they always end up looking like whatever is used to simulate them. Be it a blob of glue, a piece of wire insulation, etc. I think it looks better without them.

Today I have all the wing struts in place and most of the wing cell rigging finished. I have to add the anti-skid plates on the tops of the wings, the tip floats, rig the tail feathers and make a windscreen and it's finished. It's off of the jig now and I have the base started. I am going to mount it model ship style with a single length of polished brass rod, holding it about 1/4 inch off the base. I glued up some basswood boards and routed the edges the other day, and tonight I drilled the hole for the brass rod. I also made the hole in the bottom of the hull to accept the rod. To say I was very apprehensive of cutting a hole in the bottom would be an understatement. I didn't use a drill as I was afraid the flutes would grab and split the hull, so I ground the hole open using various abrasive bits in my Dremel. No damage done thankfully. It is now sitting on the rod, on the base, and I can easily remove it for further work on the bottom. I have to trim the whiskers of rigging peeking out the bottom wing, add a few struts from the hull to the wing, add the tip floats, then I can mount it permanently. I can do all topside work from above with it mounted. One thing I am not sure of yet is how to display it. Would a level attitude like in the pictures be best, or in a climbing, banking turn? I think the banking turn might look a bit odd without a pilot, but then sitting level is kind of... well.... boring. I'll have to sleep on it.

Well that's it for now. Next pictures will be one or two of the completed model, then I'll send in an on-line article with better pictures, and Steve can run it if he so chooses.

Cheers

Mike

[Barneydhc82]

Beautiful work Mike.

Barney